Ballybofey ( , ; ) is a town located on the south bank of the River Finn,

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconne ...

, Ireland. Together with the smaller town of

Stranorlar Stranorlar () is a town, townland and civil parish in the Finn Valley of County Donegal, in Ireland. Stranorlar and Ballybofey (located on the other side of the River Finn) form ''the Twin Towns''. Transport The town is located at the junctio ...

on the north side of the River Finn, the towns form the Twin Towns of Ballybofey-Stranorlar. Ballybofey-Stranorlar, a

census town In India and some other countries, a census town is designated as a town that satisfies certain characteristics. India In India, a census town is one which is not statutorily notified and administered as a town, but nevertheless whose population ...

, had a population of 4,852 in 2016.

History

A few miles west of Ballybofey, on the main road to

Fintown Fintown (officially known by its Irish name, ) is a small village and townland on the banks of Lough Finn in County Donegal, Ireland. It is within the Gaeltacht, an Irish-speaking area, in the west of the county. Overlooked by Aghla (589m, 1961 ...

(the R252 regional road), is the Glenmore Estate, located at Welchtown. The estate formerly included Glenmore Lodge, a

country house An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...

that stood on the opposite, southern bank of the River Finn, near Glenmore Bridge. The house was originally built in the

Georgian-style Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I, George II, Geor ...

in the mid-to-late-18th-century. It was reworked for Sir William Styles in the

neo-Tudor Tudor Revival architecture (also known as mock Tudor in the UK) first manifested itself in domestic architecture in the United Kingdom in the latter half of the 19th century. Based on revival of aspects that were perceived as Tudor architecture ...

-style in the early 20th century. The house was demolished in the 1990s. The private estate is now known for its fishing and hunting. The town grew rapidly in the 19th and 20th centuries. There are no schools or churches in the town of Ballybofey itself, with all these amenities lying either across the bridge in

or outside the town limits. This is due to laws during plantation times when certain Catholic buildings were not allowed within a specified range of Protestant towns, in this case

, though Stranorlar now has both a Roman Catholic and a Church of Ireland church. Sculpture at Bridge, Ballybofey - geograph

Events

Ballybofey previously played host to an annual Twin Towns Festival. The last of these took place in August 2007. The Balor Arts Centre is a 300-seat arts and theatre complex, and Butt Drama Circle is a local amateur drama group.

Sport

Ballybofey is home to

Finn Park Finn Park ( ga, Páirc na Finne) is a football stadium in Ballybofey, Ireland. The home ground of League of Ireland team Finn Harps, it has a 'safe capacity' of 4,200 with 351 seats. Facilities The ground is in a relatively dilapidated condit ...

where

League of Ireland The League of Ireland ( ga, Sraith na hÉireann), together with the Football Association of Ireland, is one of the two main governing bodies responsible for organising association football in the Republic of Ireland. The term was originally us ...

side

Finn Harps Finn Harps Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Chláirsigh na Finne) are an Irish football club that play in the First Division of the League of Ireland, as of 2023. The club was founded in 1954 and elected to the league in 1969. However, it was te ...

play their home games. Seán MacCumhaill Park is also located in Ballybofey, where the

Donegal senior football team The Donegal county football team ( ) represents Donegal in men's Gaelic football and is governed by Donegal GAA, the county board of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The team competes in the three major annual inter-county competitions; the All ...

have their county office and play most of their home games.

Transport

Ballybofey railway station Ballybofey railway station served the village of Ballybofey in County Donegal, Ireland. The station opened on 3 June 1895 on the Donegal Railway Company line from Glenties to Stranorlar. It closed on 15 December 1947 when the County Donegal R ...

opened on 3 June 1895, but closed on 15 December 1947.

People

Joseph Barclay Pentland Joseph Barclay Pentland (17 January 1797Joseph Barclay Pentland
in ''Dictionary of U ...

(1797-1873) - geographer, natural scientist, and traveller. *

Isaac Butt Isaac Butt (6 September 1813 – 5 May 1879) was an Irish barrister, editor, politician, Member of Parliament in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, economist and the founder and first leader of a number of Irish nationalist parti ...

(1813-1879) - politician, leader of the

Home Rule League The Home Rule League (1873–1882), sometimes called the Home Rule Party, was an Irish political party which campaigned for home rule for Ireland within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, until it was replaced by the Irish Parliam ...

, born a short distance away in Glenfin, where the Isaac Butt Memorial Hall stands * Jimmy Kelly (1911-1970) - footballer *

Ernan McMullin Ernan McMullin (October 13, 1924 – February 8, 2011) was an Irish philosopher who last served as the O’Hara Professor of Philosophy Emeritus at the University of Notre Dame. He was an internationally respected philosopher of science who has wr ...

(1924-2011) - philosopher *

Conal Gallen Conal Gallen (born 22 September 1955) is an Irish comedian, actor and singer. He is best known for his comedy songs including "Horse It Into Ya Cynthia" and "I'll Make Love To You In The Henhouse (If You'll Only Egg Me On)". Personal life Thre ...

(born 1955) - singer and comedian. * Gerald Porter (born 1968) - darts player *

John Dunleavy John Francis Dunleavy (born 3 July 1991) is an Irish footballer who plays as a defender. He currently plays for Finn Harps in the League of Ireland. Career Dunleavy joined Wolverhampton Wanderers academy in October 2006, rejecting the chance ...

(born 1991) -

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

Jason Quigley Jason Quigley is an Australian rules football field umpire in the Australian Football League. He has umpired 48 career games in the AFL.

(born 1991) - boxer

References

External links

Ballybofey/Stranorlar
{{Authority control Towns and villages in County Donegal Twin cities